


Smile

by Duckyqueen



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-11
Updated: 2011-04-11
Packaged: 2017-10-17 22:53:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/182173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duckyqueen/pseuds/Duckyqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Young Justice take on "Return of the Joker". The Joker and Harles are a mix up of Nolan-verse and TAS.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smile

Dick tried once again to reach his comm link connector on his wrist. Fuck. His fingers weren't long enough. He pulled at the handcuffs on his wrist again and glanced around the dank room again before popping open the lock pick in the tip of his right glove. He strained his finger down and scraped around the handcuff before finding the locks and stuck the pick in. His wrist spasmed, but he kept at it. The lock finally clicked and the cuff sprang open. Dick sat up and turned on his side and began to work quickly on the other cuff. His head kept on shooting up at ever small noise. The lock gave way as soon as the door to the room opened.  
    "Oh Boy Wonder!" Harley called. She giggled before noticing that Dick was free and crouching on the table that he had previously been strapped to. "Aw, come on Robby, don't be like that," She giggled again. Robin noticed that she seemed a little more... put together than usual. Her hair was in two neat pigtails and her make up wasn't as smeared as usual. "You'll only make it harder on yourself." Dick growled, reaching into his utility belt for batarangs. Harley sighed. "Babies!" She called and two hyenas advanced from behind her. Dick took a double take. Where on earth did she even _get_ hyenas from? The creatures snarled and advanced on Dick, who jumped up, flinging the batarangs towards them. They made solid contact with one and Harley shrieked and the other hyena pounced, pinning Robin to the floor. Suddenly Harley was in his face, smiling sweetly. "I told you not to make it difficult pumpkin." She misted something in his face from something looked a little like a flower, but Dick's vision soon blurred into darkness.  
~  
    When he awoke again, Dick found that he was bound to the table once again, but his boots, belt, gloves and cape were gone. He struggled against the bonds but stopped when he heard giggling.  
    "Oh Robby," from out of the darkness emerged the Joker, grinning. "It's no use. We took away all your little toys. You might get them back later. If you cooperate." Dick growled and spat at the Joker, who let the salivia hit him in the face. He leaned over, into Dick's face. "Oh, you have _no_ idea the fun in store we have for you, little boy." He pulled back and walked to the door. He flipped a switch and suddenly the room was bathed in harsh, bright flourescent light. "Have fun, birdy."  
~  
    Dick blinks slowly. how long has it been since he has slept? He feels sluggish and he cannot figure out how to count days. There was no night, no morning, no day in whatever place the Joker was keeping him. The light throbs in his head, arcing off the metal in the room, keeping him awake. Harley comes in with no regularity (so it seems to Dick) to give him water and some food. Sometimes she croons to him, strokes his hair. He finds himself unable to pull away from her touches and she giggles, the sound drilling into his skull. He reaches out for M'gann, hoping and praying that he is somewhere in her telepathic range. Dark shadows begin to pulse in the corners of the room and his back aches and sometimes he blinks and he is standing on a ledge and dad is reaching out to him to jumpjumpjumpju-  
~  
    He gets panic attacks now, fluttering heart and a numbed mouth. He whines. He feels like an animal. He can't feel anything except the desire to getoutgetoutgetout. He'll cry. He'll cry so much, he'll vomit from dehydration. He does vomit and the tears irritate the skin under his mask (why is he wearing a mask?) because they can't roll freely down his face. He hears her singing to him, soft in Romany and then she speaks to him say " _Richard, Richard, Momma loves you birdy. My little birdy._ " And he answers back in Romany and he can't remember how he knows how to speak Romany and who is Ricahrd? But then he remembers _he_ is Richard. But he isn't sure. His head just spins and spins. He blinks and suddenly she is back with him and then he blinks again and they are standing over him. They're saying something, but everyhting is warping and the sound of their voices sounds like another language. Fingers are prying at the mask. No. They can't do that. He needs it. They can't- he's keening something in a gibbered mix of English and Romany and he's trying to pull away but the mask is pulled off and she is cooing something about "pretty, pretty blue eyes." And he is giggling. He blinks and water is being trickled into his mouth. He blinks again and they are both gone.  
~  
    He could be blacking out, but he isn't sure. He aches and his stomach hurts and his eyes keep on crossing. The anxiety is worse than before and he's singing to himself in that language he can't remember- Romany? Yes. Wait. No. Yes. Yes. She comes in with him again and for a second she has dark hair and bright blue eyes and she's kissing his forehead, but she's blond again and cooing "Momma's here, birdy boy. Daddy and Momma will take care of you."And she strokes his hair. He leans over, scowling.  
    "Why wont he smile?" There's a childish whine in daddy's voice and he leans closer. The scars on his face distort and daddy grins at the fear in his eyes. "I'm sorry, does my face scare you?" His mouth is too dry to answer. "Do you want to know how i got them?" A flash of steel in daddy's hands. "Let's put a _smile_ or your face, sonny boy." The gleam arcs upwards and all of a sudden, there is only red and daddy (nononononotdaddyatall) has a firm grip on his jaw and he's screaming and screaming and-  
~  
    M'gann hears it, sharp and hard and fast in her head. She's taken to flying over Gotham, a vain attempt to find Robin in her telepathic range, but nothing so far. Batman hasn't been to Mount Justice in weeks, prowling through every city he can think of around Gotham. She hasn't seen him, but from snatches of conversations from her uncle, the dark knight hasn't slept or eaten much.  
    She hears the scream so sharply in her head that she plummets down in the air a few feet. The scream is a jumble of too many languages and emotions, but it is very clearly Robin. She reaches out to the other's mind, but finds only white and red and shatters and tears and brightbright light. The pain is so emmense, she has to land on a rooftop. She pulls out of his mind and immediately calls for Batman on her comm.  
~  
    Wally and the rest of the team find themselves in the batcave. Wally feels chilled and anxious and Batman is pacing and barking questions at M'gann until one of the batmonitors begins to beep with an incoming call. Batman swoops over, pressing buttons and a grotesque face appears on the screen.  
    "Joker," Batman grits out. The Joker giggles. "Where is he?" The man burst into laughter. "Where. Is. He?" Batman askes again. Wally can tell that the Batman is already tracing the call.  
    "Oh, I think you know already," The Joker cackles, his eyes scan the room, taking in Wally and M'gann and the rest of the team. "And bring the kids over, too. It'll be fun. We can have a playdate." The transmission fissles out and Batman is alrady on his feet, the team scrambling after him.  
~  
    Everything is so hazy. He thinks he has slept. He blinks his eyes open and she- no- momma (Noyes. Yes. Yes, momma) is smearing something heavy and cool on his face. He can feel blood dribbling down his cheeks, his skin throbs around the hastily applied stiches. "Oh!" Momma squeals. "Baby boy is awake! Oh Mistah J! Joker Jr. is awake!" There is a cackle from somewhere and who ever _he_ is begins to giggle too. "Now finish up Harles, we're expecting company!" Momma squeals with joys and finishes whatever she was doing to his face. She lets him sit up. He's in new clothes. Purples and green and blue and too many patterns. His eyes hurt just looking at himself and Daddy comes over, smiling manically and pushes something into his hand. Something cold. Knife. Long. Mean. "Now, you just... stay right here," Daddy says.  
~  
    They bust into the warehouse with ease, traveling down in elevator into a long maze of corridors. They rush after M'gann, who is probing Dick's mind, running down hallways until a they see a woman stadning up ahead. Wally shivers. Harley Quinn. She wearing an apron over her stained red dress, holding what looks like a pie. She grins. "Puddin'!" She calls. "Our company has arrived!" The Joker steps out of a room, smiling.  
    "Oh, how nice of you to bring the kids!" Batman grits his teeth.  
    "Where is Robin?" he grinds out. The Joker ignores him.  
    "I finally understand why you took in the little brat," the clown says. "I finally understand the deep pull to fill the proverbial nest, right pumpkin?" He pulls Harely close and kisses her forhead, swiping some whipped cream from the top of the pie with a gloved finger and licking it into his mouth. "Harles and I decided to get a little brat of our own. Took soemetime, but we finally have a little Joker Jr." He pushes open the door he had just come out of, calling out "It's alright sonny, come out and meet the other kiddies!" He can't even finish the sentence properly, falling into to giggles. The Batman doesn't move. A small, blood stained hand clutches the doorframe. The hand pulls the body into the hallway. Wally can't figure out what is wrong at first and then he screams. "Robin!"  
~  
    The noise startles him (Joker Jr. Sonny. Robin. Robin. Richard). The hallway is too bright and he can feel tears gathers in his eyes, rolling down through whatever is caked on his face. his cheeks throb and the knife is warm in his hand and there is too much color at the end of the hallway. A man in black. Boy in yellow. Green girl. Blackwhitered bigbigbig mountainRedWhiteBarefoot. He heaves. Nothing coming out, just dry air and he laughs. Howls with laughter and he doens't understnad because he justhurtssomuch. He wants to move but he is too unsure of where and how to move. He finally steps foward.  
~  
    Artemis looks ill. Kaldur confused, then enraged. Superboy seems rooted to the spot, his fists clenching and unclenching. M'gann reaches out for Robin but his eyes can't stay fixed anywhere, the tears on his face making tracks in the thick clown makeup on his face, rolling down onto his swollen, bloodied cheeks. His face has been slashed into a wicked, wide smile, blood mixing and dribbling into his unevenly buttoned shirtand vest. Batman howls and launches himself at the Joker. Before Wally can even think, Harley has tossed the pie over he shoulder and is running towards them and all Wally can think is "DickDickRichard." But Dick has launched hismelf toward Batman, knife raised high in his hands, bring it down in a shining arc, into the kevlar of Batman's back. The force causes Dick to spring away, howling from the sensation. he falls against the wall, but Batman doesn't notice. The Joker kicks him away, pulls the knife from the kevlar and Wally can't think, just rushes toward Dick, who claws at him.  
    "Robin! Robin!" Dick kicks harder. "Dick! It's me! It's Wally!" Dick can't seem to form words, he laughs and laughs and laughs, pushing Wally away and backing into the room, picking up and gun and waving it at Wally. "Dick, Dick- please, it's me. Put the gun down!" Dick aims it unsteadily and fires. Wally dashes away. Dick looks astounded at the sudden flash of yellow and red. he fires again before running unsteadily out of the room. Wally rushes out after him, noticing that M'gann and Superboy have Harley subdued and Kaldur and Artemis have gone after Batman and the Joker. Dick runs down the hall, following the sound of crazed laughter. He answer the laughs with barks of his own. Wally speeds after him, grabbing at the boy. Everytime he tries to grad Dick, he bites and scratches and pulls away. They finally come out into a large, open room. A large hole takes up most of the floor, made by what looks like explosives. The Joker and Batman are fighting. Kaldur and Artemis are hung back, ready to help if necessary, but Batman is barking orders to _stay away_. Dick laughs again, watching the two men struggle. The Joker finally pins Batman at the edge of the hole. "you'll never beat me. Never Bats. Never. Not if you can't kill me. I can see it. I can see it under your skin. You're fighting with yourself. Kill me for killing your little boy? Kill your morals?" The Joker can't stop laughing, and wraps his hands aroudn a gap in the armor around Batman's neck and squeezes. He looks back at Dick, grins. "C'mon Junior, shoot!" Dick walks foward. He cackles at this and turns back to Batman's reddening face.  "You'll never win."  
~  
    He can't understand what's going on. But then Daddy has the shadow pinned to the ground. Is screaming at the shadow. "Kill me for killing your little boy?" Joker Jr.'s head hurts. Like glass shattering. He's laughing. his cheeks ache. he can't stop laughing. Can'tstopcan'tstop. "C'mon Junior, shoot!" He walks foward. The gun is raised in front of him. At the two men. Daddy and the Shadow. No. No. Not daddy (yes, yes that is daddy and the shadow). No. Not at all. No. That's not his daddy. Never. Too many things are pulling his head from one place to another. His heart flutters hard in his chest. He wants to go to sleep. He wants to go home. He wants to- (do what _he_ says). He can't. His breathing is labored. He wants to stop laughing. He grits his teeth. The gun is in his hand. "You'll never win." He pulls the trigger.  
~  
    The crack jolts everyone. The Joker stiffens. Then the hands around the Batman's throat loosen. Wally can see the red spreading over his coat, right where his left lung and heart are. He looks down at Batman, then at Dick, who is standing with the smoking gun. The Joker coughs. Pitches foward. Batman shoves the Joker foward and off of him and the clown falls down the pit. He sits up, coughs and then stands, rushing toward Dick, who drops the gun. Wally flashes over, Dick begins to laugh, high pitched, desperate. He laughs and laughs. Wally wraps his arms around the smaller boy. Dick continues to laugh until Wally feels his body begin to shudder with sobs. He draws him close.  
~


End file.
